The Sherlockology Review of 2016
* 31 December 2016

That felt like a dark year didn't it? You know what we're
talking about. So we're not going to repeat it here.

Instead, it's our traditional look back at the year that was
through the medium of BBC Sherlock. Which is actually far more
comforting, or so we like to think.

2016 was actually a bit of a bonanza for Sherlock fans if we're
honest, seeing as for the first time ever it both started and ended
with brand new episodes of Sherlock. The Abominable Bride premiered on January 1
2016 on BBC One in the UK and PBS Masterpiece in the USA. Advance
screenings hadn't been granted for this special episode, and an
hour in the reasons became clear for that. The entire conceit of
the Victorian set special as that it was actually a drug fuelled
mental exercise taking place in Sherlock's head - a bout of
Inception with extra Moriarty if you will - and there was little
chance of this twist not being spoilt ahead of broadcast if others
had seen it, seeing as it forms the entire basis of the plot. As
well as its same day airing in the UK and USA, the episode was also
released in cinemas around the world, earning a striking $38m - a
figure that was well above the episode's production budget!

In June, we attended the beginning of the press coverage for the
new series, which was carried out in an extended and interesting
form for the remaining six months of the year. Cast and crew were
interviewed, and we briefly visited the set while filming was
occurring. We'll have lots more detail on this after the fourth
series has ended airing on television. San Diego Comic Con took
place during the production of Series 4 as well, with production
pausing to allow Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue, Mark Gatiss, Benedict
Cumberbatch and Amanda Abbington to all attend a packed out panel in the famous Hall H during
the weekend. The event saw the debut of the first dramatic trailer for the new series,
revealing that the show was seemingly taking a strong turn into the
dark.

September was arguably the single most packed month of the year.
We saw the USA debut of Startup, a new series on Sony's online
streaming platform Crackle that starred Martin Freeman in the role
of a corrupt FBI agent with ties to the mob, who in turn becomes
involved in a new technology company when the mob money is invested
into it. The series later debuted on Amazon Prime in the UK, but
sadly didn't pick up entirely favourable reviews.

Far more positive though was the news on September 18 that The Abominable Bride took home the Emmy Award for
Best TV Movie, with Steven, Sue and Amanda on hand with PBS'
Rebecca Eaton to pick up the awards. The week after that saw the
return of the official Sherlocked convention to the Excel centre in
London, with cast and crew including Andrew Scott, Rupert Graves,
Amanda Abbington, Louise Brealey and Una Stubbs all again putting
on a series of highly entertaining panels for attendees to enjoy.
Benedict arrived in suitably dramatic style by helicopter in a
relatively late booking to the event, going on to give a brilliant
penultimate panel for the weekend before Steven, Sue and Mark
dropped a bombshell by revealing the first two episode titles for
Series 4 on stage - The Six Thatchers and The Lying Detective.

October led to our first play of the year, with Mark Gatiss and
husband Ian Hallard headlining in a revival of The
Boys in the Band, Mart Crowley's bitterly funny tale of gay
life in the late 1960s. A limited run at the Park Theatre in London
was followed by a short tour to Brighton, Manchester and Leeds, and
2017 will see the play open in the West End for a limited run. See
it if you can. Late October also saw Benedict Cumberbatch join the
Marvel Universe (he was bringing up the rear from Martin Freeman,
who got there first in May in Captain America: Civil War) with his
debut as the Sorceror Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange. Going on to
be the biggest single character debut in the MCU since the first
Iron Man movie in 2008, Doctor Strange was a blockbuster entry point
for the notion of magic in the franchise, with Benedict an able
guide on a canvas of this scale.

The year has of course ended with a bang. At a retrospective
event at BAFTA in London on December 9 we finally learnt the title
of the final episode of Sherlock Series 4 - The Final Problem. The
first episode title in the life of the series not to be cleverly
twisted from the source material, it was also revealed the episode
will be shown in cinemas in the UK and USA in early January. Then
ten days later, the promotional gloves were finally off as invited
guests were treated to an exclusive reception and presentation of
Sherlock
S4E1 The Six Thatchers ahead of its debut on New Year's Day.
And despite the promised darkness that lies at the core of this new
episode of Sherlock, we hope it will lead into a better year for us
all. What the future holds for Sherlock itself from then on may or
may not be answered in a few weeks time at the close of the new
series, but regardless, from all of us at Sherlockology - we wish
you a happy and fulfilling new year.